Mary Baker Supplee

Mary Baker Supplee, age 106, the widow of Henderson Supplee, Jr., a past president and chairman of the former Atlantic Refining Company, a past chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Philadelphia and charter trustee of Princeton University, died peacefully at Dunwoody Village in Newtown Square, PA on February 13, 2013. Mrs. Supplee was born in Haverhill, MA, daughter of Rev. William Osborn Baker and Elizabeth Jackson Baker, her mother being a direct descendant of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The family later transferred to a parish in New Haven, CT and would vacation at their home in Bar Harbor, ME where her father was the summer priest at St. Saviour's Episcopal Church, now listed on the National Register of Historical Places. Upon graduation from St. Mary's School in Peekskill, NY, Mrs. Supplee studied piano at the Yale School of Music until her marriage in 1928 and subsequent move to Haverford, PA. She enjoyed recalling those first years of marriage when she would arise before dawn to help prepare Mr. Supplee for a day of delivering Supplee-Wills-Jones dairy products by horse and wagon to customers in Norristown, PA. As a youth, Mrs. Supplee was a fine athlete which in future years assisted her as she learned to play golf well at the Gulph Mills Golf Club where she was a member for over 70 years. She was also an excellent trout and salmon fly fisher-woman and a past member of the Acorn Club of Philadelphia. Most likely, she is the last survivor to have personally known and remembered her renowned cousin, Hobey Baker, the legendary St. Paul's School and Princeton University ice hockey player and WWI fighter pilot who tragically died in France only several weeks following the Armistice and on the day he was to begin his return journey to New York City. The family moved to Radnor, PA prior to WWII and Mrs. Supplee began a long record of service to the Philadelphia community, including: Chairman of the Women's Committees for the Planned Parenthood Association and former Babies Hospital, President of The Visiting Nurse Association, Vice-Chairman of the former United Community Campaign, member of the Philadelphia Board of Health appointed by Mayors Clark and Dilworth, and President of the Philadelphia Community Nursing Bureau and a Trustee of the Shipley School. Mrs. Supplee loved early American antique furnishings, her succession of French poodle companions, the Philadelphia Phillies and designing and tending flower gardens to attract various birds and butterflies. For many years following her relocation to Dunwoody Village in 1993, her home and terrace were a showcase for prospective residents. She is survived by her children Henderson Supplee, III of Bryn Mawr, PA, Anne Carroll of New London, NH, Betty diValmarana of Charlottesville, VA and Andrew R. Supplee of North Sutton, NH, six grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren. A graveside memorial service will be held at the convenience of the family at West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd, PA. Contributions may be made to Visiting Nurse Association, 3300 Henry Avenue, Suite 500, Philadelphia, PA 19129 or to Planned Parenthood Association, 1144 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107-6734. Arrangements by Chadwick and McKinney, Ardmore, PA.